Scott Sealy and Ryan Johnson also scored for San Jose (5-9-6), which has won two straight after snapping an eight-match winless skid. Darren Huckerby had two assists against New England, which came in with MLS' best record.

The Revolution (10-6-3) needed to win to stay ahead of Columbus, which beat FC Dallas, for first in the Eastern Conference standings. Instead, New England lost its second consecutive game for the first time this year, and more significantly saw iron-man goalkeeper Matt Reis, who had played every minute in net for the Revolution since Sept. 3, 2005, forced to the bench by a strained right adductor.

San Jose got on the board in the 11th minute when Francisco Lima corralled a deflected shot and scooped a gentle lead pass to O'Brien, who used a deft right-footed volley from 14 yards out to beat Reis.

New England's Doug Warren, who replaced Reis in the 55th minute, gave up the final three goals against a counterattacking San Jose squad. Johnson scored in the 71st minute, Sealy got a wide-open goal in the 76th minute and O'Brien capped things off in the 87th minute.

Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP

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San Jose Earthquakes' James Riley, top, hugs teammate Ronnie O'Brien after O'Brien's goal against the New England Revolution in the first half of a match in Santa Clara, Calif., Saturday, Aug. 16, 2008.

San Jose Earthquakes' James Riley, top, hugs teammate Ronnie O'Brien after O'Brien's goal against the New England Revolution in the first half of a match in Santa Clara, Calif., Saturday, Aug. 16, 2008.

Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP

Quakes make it 2 wins in a row

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San Jose goalkeeper Joe Cannon preserved his seventh shutout by making six saves, including one early in the second half after a poor back pass from Lima gave Sainey Nyassi a free look inside the penalty area. Cannon made a left-handed stop to turn away New England's best chance of the night.

Crew 2, FC Dallas 1: Jeff Cunningham became the fourth player in MLS history to reach 100 goals when he scored in his first game for FC Dallas, but Brian Carroll and Brad Evans netted second-half goals three minutes apart to help host Columbus.

Cunningham's 35th-minute score was his first for Dallas since being acquired from Toronto FC Aug. 8. Cunningham scored 62 times as a member of the Crew from 1998 through 2004.

international

English Premier League: Arsenal got off to a comfortable but unconvincing start with a 1-0 home win over newly promoted West Brom. Samir Nasri scored in the fourth minute of his Premier League debut to give Arsenal an early edge over its title rivals, with defending champion Manchester United and last season's runner-up Chelsea not playing until today.

German Bundesliga: Schalke got two goals from Kevin Kuranyi to beat Hannover 3-0 and newcomer Hoffenheim won 3-0 at Energie Cottbus, allowing the two clubs to share the lead after the first round.